Norton goes low and wide at the Ritz Carlton Millenia
Published: ASIA
SINGAPORE: There’s no escape from audio in today’s five star hotels and the 32-storey Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore is no exception. Upon arrival, guests are greeted by soothing BGM in the foyer and corridors all the way to the 608 guest rooms, which are equipped with iPod docking stations and 46-inch HD TVs. The 3,300 sq-m meeting spaces all boast professional A/V and lighting equipment for enhancing weddings, private parties and corporate events. Not even the pool area has been spared.
No strangers to the Singaporean hospitality circuit, Concept Systems Technologies Pte Ltd was called upon to design, supply and install a loudspeaker system surrounding the perimeter of the full size pool. The two symmetrical garden terraces on either side of the pool length each contain three Norton NF8 coaxial 8-inch two-way speakers. Operating within an 85Hz-20KHz frequency range, the NF8 point source models offer conical 90° dispersion. The lower frequencies of the custom-bracketed IP65-rated powder coated cabinets have been extended to 32Hz with the addition of two weather-resistant Norton SB112 12-inch stacked subwoofers on both sides.
The Belden cabling from the 12 NF8 and four SB112 cabinets has been run to an interior BOH control room where an equipment rack has been installed hosting four ND2 amplifiers. Running at 4-ohms operation, the dual 1,900W per-channel amps also incorporate DSP settings such as delays, filters, limiters and crossovers, which can be configured from a PC loaded with software. Sources include an iPod and an Apart PC1000RMKII multisource CD/USB/SD-card music player.
The Concept team added two facility panels hosting power together with microphone inputs and outputs, one of which is located on a raised 5m stage at the end of the pool for hosting events with live bands and DJs. ‘We have created four separate speaker zones consisting of three speakers each,’ explained GM Gerald Fong. ‘This simply allows the hotel facility manager to lower or mute the levels of BGM should guests request some peace.’
The pool is open from 6am to 10pm, and so the BGM is running 16 hours per day, seven days per week. ‘We were called upon by the hotel management to install a loudspeaker system that would provide even coverage at lower SPLs around the pool.’ Mr Fong furthers. ‘As such we had to install more speakers, but at low output. One of the primary considerations was the proximity of the guest rooms on the fourth level as there had previously been complaints about the high SPLs in the evening. By carefully positioning the NF8s to concentrate their energies within the pool area, there is very little spillage beyond.’